Fool Me Twice

Today The Dance is 1 year old. Happy Birthday! A year ago I started this blog so that I would have a place to post reviews of books that I had read for Karlene's Summer Reading Thing. So I think to celebrate my bloggy birthday, I will do a book review.

Fool Me Twice

Stephanie Black

When it comes to pleasing her twin sister, Megan O'Connor is an easy touch. She'll do just about anything to gain Kristen's approval, including trading places with her. After all, Kristen's plan promises to get Megan out of a dead-end job and make them both rich. It will be a nice reward for a little genealogical investigation--something that couldn't have happened without the help of Kristen's new LDS acquaintances. And who could blame the twins for using a tiny bit of deceit to manipulate an inheritance out of someone as demanding as their estranged Aunt Evelyn?

All Megan has to do is pretend to be Kristen, move into Evelyn's house, and take care of the wealthy old woman until her failing health kills her. It shouldn't take too long. It shouldn't be too difficult. Megan's the nice one. Except for the lie, the task is a natural fit. Everything would be perfect if she could just ignore the guilt--a feeling that only grows stronger as she spends more time with the new friends Kristen arranged for her.

But soon Megan discovers that there is more to worry about. She's living in a house of illusions where she isn't the only one playing a part. Someone has developed a new plotline that ends with a death scene--and in this version, the victim won't die of natural causes.

Beneath the surface of the sleepy New England town of Britteridge, deceit weaves a deadly web where turnabout is anything but fair play.

This is Stephanie Black's second novel. I really enjoyed this book. The story is well written and the characters are very well defined. I enjoyed the way Stephanie allowed us into Megan's thought process without interrupting the story. The action was constant and kept me guessing and wondering throughout. Even when I knew who the bad guys were, and there were more than meets the eye at the beginning of the book, I was wondering how Megan was ever going to get out of this mess.

Even though it is an LDS book and the Book Of Mormon is mentioned, the religion is not pushy. Everyone does not get baptised in the end and I found this aspect to be true to life.

I also liked that even though there is the potential for romance, it doesn't happen. No one falls in love after knowing each other for a couple weeks. No one reforms their life to make another happy. No one rushes off to the temple at the end.

Overall, I would recommend this book.